Controller for mechanical gear-shifts.



G. W. BUNGAY.

CONTROLLER FOR MECHANICAL GEAR SHIFTS.

APPLIEATION FILED JAN. 5. 19M.

1,233,548. Patented July 17, 1917.

2 SHEETS*SHEET I.

test: Inventor: M gwz W Atty.

G. W. BUYNGAY.

CONTROLLER FOR MECHANICAL GEAR SHIFTS.

Patented July 17, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- IE4 Atty lflllilllliIiIl APPLICATION FILED JAN. 5.19M.

. .w a EN UNITED STATES PATENT onnrcn.

GEORGE W. BUNGAY, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO BUNGAY MFG. COM-PANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

CONTROLLER FOR MECHANICAL GEAR-SHIFTS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 17, 1917.

Application filed January 5, 1914. Serial No. 810,292.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, Gnonen W. Bowen, acitizen of the United States, residing at the borough of Manhattan, inthe city of New York, county of Kings, and State of New York, haveinvented certainnew and useful Improvements in Controllers forMechanical Gear-Shifts, of which'the following is aspecification,reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings,which form a in makin a nick chan e of s eed the b b 7 clutch and thecontroller had to be actuated in sequence and under some conditionsthere was a tendency toward such an interference in the variable. speedgears that the desired shifting could not be secured with reliability.

By my present invention, I am enabled to set the controller for anydesired speed while the engine is running at one speed, and theactuation of the clutch pedal will simultaneously actuate the gearshifting mechanism so that the controller may actuate the settingmechanism thereof, said set ting mechanism immediately cominautomatically to the desired position so that the actual setting andshifting of the gear shifting mechanism is under the control of thepedal, the extent of the operation of the gear shifting mechanism being,however, determined by the controller.

My controller has the further advantage that the manual labor requiredto shift the I gears or the setting mechanism therefor is reduced tothat necessary to operate the controller, the actual movement of partsof the transmission gearing" and gear shifting mechanism beingaccomplished automatically.

In the practice of my invention, I prefer to use a mechanism wherein thesetting power is developed upon. each actuation of the clutch pedal,thus insuring the presence at all times of sutlicient energy toaccomplish the setting of the gear shifting mecha- 111SII1.

My controller embodies therein a rotary shaft and means controlledthereby for setting the gear shifting mechanism for any desired speedforward, orreverse, and in conjunction therewith, I employ automaticallyacting means for accomplishing the rotary movement of said shaft andsettable means by which the extent of this rotary movement may bedetermined.

To facilitate the setting of the controller, I preferably employ aplurality of independently operative, depressible stops, any one ofwhich may be set so as to arrest rotary movement of, said shaft at adesired.

point, the depression of one of said stops automatically effecting therelease of any other so that only one stop at a time may be depressed.I- also aim to provide a power developing mechanism for actuating thesetting mechanism, the energy of which will be developed by thereciprocatory movement of the main shaft of the automatic gear shiftingdevice, the power transmission means being so constructed that it isinoperative upon the setting mechanism while the power is beingdeveloped, and becomes operative upon said mechanism prior to theactuation of said gear shift mechanism under the control of the clutchpedal. I further provide means whereby tliecontrolling mechanism will atall times indicate the speed or direction at which the variable speedgears are set, thus permitting the operator to,determine the speed atwhich he is running, and in case of a change of speed, the speed towhich he is to change.

I also aim by my invention, as far as possible, the construction of thecontroller without sacrificing its strength, durability or reliabilityof operation.

My invention consists primarily in a controller for mechanical gearshifts, embodying therein a gear shifting mechanism controlled by theclutch pedal, and a rotary setting device therefor, said setting devicebeing operative only when said clutch is released, in combination with arotatable shaft, connections betwen .said shaft and said setting device,means adapted to automatically and simultaneously actua'lw said settingdevice and said shaft, and diflerentially operative means adapted to actupon said shaft to limit the operative movement of said actuating means;and in such other novel features of construction and combination ofparts as are hereinafter set forth and described, and more particularlypointed out in the claims hereto appended.

Referring to the drawings*:

Figure l'is a side elevation of an automobile, showing my improvedcontroller and gear shift mechanism applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the steering head, and thecontroller boxsecured in relation thereto;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of said controller box;

Fig; 4 is a vertical section'of said controller box;

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is an endview of the gear shift box, showing the actuating meansfor my controller; and v Fig. 7 is a side elevation of said actuatingmeans, the mechanism in said box being shown in elevation.

Like letters refer to like parts throughout the several views.

Inasmuch as the detailed construction of the gear shifting mechanism isimmaterial to this invention, and as I do not intend to claim thesame inthis application, a specific showing thereof in the drawings, ordescription thereof, is not made, and will not be entered into. But asthe device of this application has particular applicability to this gearshifting mechanism, and a reference to the essentials thereof will benecessary in connection with the explanation of that form of theinvention shown in the accompanying drawings, a general showing of saidgear shifting mechanism is made, and a general description thereof willbe given.

In the accompanying drawings, a indi dates the gear shifting mechanismbox which has mounted therein the gear shifting rods a and a and the roda adapted to be connected to the clutch pedal a of an automobile. Thespring tension. for actuating the gear shifting rods a a is developed byconnections between the rod a which rod is reciprocatory, and oppositelymovable slidable disks or'other means for transmitting the energy ofsaid springs to either of the rods a or a Qne of said disks is shown Todetermine the direction and extent of movement of either rod 0. or a thedisks rotating with a shaft 0;. When the clutch is released, the rods aand of are actuated to bring the transmission gears out of mesh,

and at the same time bring the disks a out of engagement with a guidestop a which is straddled by its disk when the said disk has beenactuated to shift thespeed gearing, and is engaged thereby when thecontrolling means is at neutral to prevent the shifting of the gears.

From this brief description, it is apparent that the essentialcharacteristics of this form of gear shifting mechanism are the meanswhereby the disengagement of the transmission gears is accomplishedsubstantially simultaneously with, or immediately following, the releaseof the engine clutch, the conn'ecting disks which are held againstrotation when the transmission gears are in mesh, and are free to rotatewhen said gears are disengaged, and a rotary setting means for saidconnecting disks to determine their operative efi'ect upon thetransmission gears.

These are the only characteristics which need be referred to inconnection with the present invention, which relates more particularlyto a mechanism by which the rotary setting device is automaticallyactuated, this device heretofore having been manually set. Sucha gearshifting mechaand adjacent to the bottom thereof is an arm 9, carried byand rotatable with the shaft 6.

Carried by the controller box 7 is a lurality of depressible plungers hh h h 4 b respectively carrying at the lower end thereof, and within thelower portion of the box f, a stop block 2' i 2' i 2' or i adapted to beprojected by the depression of its plun er into the path of the arm 9 soas to arrest the rotary movement thereof. Each of the plungers h to 72.respectively is provided with an enlarged head mounted in a spring cupcarried by the controller box 7, a spring as j being seated within saidcup and having a normal tendency to raise said plunger and its stop.

To permit the setting of each plunger in its depressedposition, meansare provided as a lock plate is having a plurality of openings thereinthrough which a projection m upon each of said depressibleplungers isadapted to pass and by engagement with the under side thereof hold anysaid plunger in the depressed position. I v V This plate isrotatablymounted within iso Q the controller box f and is acted upon bya torsion spring Z to permit the movement of the plate upon the passageof said projection, and its restoration to normal where it will preventa return movement of a plunger. The projections m are conical in shape,so as to present a cam surface to the plate 70. By using a lock platecommon to all said stop plungers, and by making all of the projections mof the. same dimensions, it will be observed that the plate is will beactuated by the depression of any plunger in "a manner to disengage itfrom any depressed plunger, and thus permit that plunger and its stop tobe raised by means of itsspring j, and prevent more than one stop beingset at a time.

The various plungers are made settable by reason of this lock plate, andthe reason why it is so constructed is that it is desired to set thecontroller for a given speed prior to the release of the engineclutchand of the setting device of the geafshifting mecha- The shaft Z)projects through the controller bo f and upon the upper end thereofcarries an indicator finger n which is alined with, and will indicatethe position of, the arm y, thus showing at a glance at what speed thetransmission gears are set at any time, and the speed to which thesegears will be changed with the next actuation of the gear shiftingmechanism.

The actual setting of the gear shifting mechanism may be accomplishedautomatically by any desired mechanism becoming operative upon therelease of the clutch and of the setting device of the gear shiftingmechanism. I prefer to employ a spring for this purpose, which springwill be tensioned prior to each actuation of the setting device, thusavoiding any possibility of the failure of the gear shifting mechanismto be actuated to the extent indicated by the controller.

In the form of the invention shown, this automatic actuating means forthe setting device of the gear shifting mechanism comprises a spring 0mounted upon the gear shifting box a, the energy of which spring istransmitted to the gear setting device a by means of a lever carrying anoscillatory rack 72 mounted upon a stud carried by said box, a gear Qenmeshed therewith and connected with a gear 7' in mesh with the gear .9mounted upon the shaft a by means of a pawl and ratchet mechanism t.

The lever p is provided with an arm p carrying an anti-friction roller79 adapted to engage the cam 11- carried by the rod a This cam u is soset that when the clutch pedal is depressed, to restore all parts of thegear shifting mechanism to a neutral position, the lever n willbepermitted to have oscillatory movement under its spring 0, and when saidpedal is released to actuate the gear shifting mechanism, said lever pwill be oscillated to tension said spring.

By this construction it will be observed that the spring is tensionedprior to each actuation of the gear setting mechanism so that when thismechanism is brought to normal, the spring will accomplish the automaticsetting of the gear shifting mechanism instantly upon the parts comingto that position where they may be so set.

Each of the plungers i2, is provided with a button indicating thevarious speeds or directions of drive, which will result from thedepression of that plunger, one of said buttons indicating the neutralposition of the gears so that if desired, the actuation of the gearshifting mechanism may be prevented, through the actuation of thecontrol.

The operation of the herein described controller is substantially asfollows Assuming that the clutch pedal a is raised so as to set theengine clutch, but that the gear shifting device and the transmis siongears are set for any desired speed, the plunger indicating that speedat which the engine is running, will have been depressed. If it bedesired to bring the transmission gearing to neutral while the engine isstill running, and transmitting power to the driving wheels through thetransmission gearing, the plunger if will he depressed as shown in Fig.4, interposing its stop 2' in the path of the arm 9. This depression ofthe plunger it, as the projection on thereon passes through its openingin the plate .70, will oscillate said plate against the tension of thespring Z, thus releasing the previcusly depressed plunger, but upon thereturn of said plate to normal, retaining the plunger h in the depressedposition.

This actuation of the plunger h does not in any way aflect the gearshifting mechanism or its setting device, but merely determines what thesubsequent actuation of this device and mechanism will be. hen it isdesired to actually accomplish a shifting of the gears of thetransmission gearing, the pedal 1* is depressed, thus restoring thedisks a which prior to that time had been held against rotation by thestops a to their normal position where they are free to be rotated.

Immediately that the disks clear of the guide stops a the spring a thelever 79 will rotate the shaft 0-, ting the disks a so that upon therelease of the clutch pedal, they will ,abut against the stops (68 andthus preventthe actuation of the gear shifting rods (5'' hen the rod ais reciprocated to bring the parts to normal, the cam 21. thereon willpass out of engagement with the anti-friction roller p and permit operrive movement of the lever 32, and. when the pedal is has been thustensioned, it will remain in tension until the next actuation of one ofthe plungers of the controller, notwithstandin the actuation of thepedal 03' in set- .ting and releasing the engine clutch.

The spring 0 in addition to rotating the setting gear a, will'rotate theshafts b d, and the arm g carried by the latter, the engagement of thearm 9 with the step 71'' determining the extent of this rotary movement,or controlling the setting of the device. The indicator finger n beingparallel with and traveling with the arm g will indicate the point atwhich this arm comes to rest, or the speed or direction at which thegears are set. If it be desired to again change the speed, or thedirection of the vehicle, any one of the plungers h to k may bedepressed, the depression of one plunger resulting in the release of thepreviously depressed plunger, so as to leave clearance between the arm 9and the stop of the depressed plunger, and thus determining the extentof the next shifting movement of the transmission gears.

d ifter the depression of a plunger, there is clearly indicated upon thecontroller box, the speed or direction at which the transmission gearsare set, and the next speed to which they will. go upon the actuation ofthe clutch pedal. The pawl and ratchet mechanism 2, will prevent thedevelopment of power in the spring 0 with resultant movement of the geara.

It will be observed from the foregoing description, that the setting ofthe gear shifting mechanism is entirely automatic, the degree of themovement in setting same being determined by the controller. This condi'tion permits the controller to be set for any desired direction orspeed while the vehicle is running. at a different speed, avoids anynecessity for accuracy in the timing of the activation of thecontrolling pedal, and the setting mechanism, and permits the setting ofthe gear shifting mechanisrn without the exercise of any substantialdegree of energy.

it also permits the operator to determine the speed at which he isrunning, and the speed to which he is about to shift the transmissiongearing. This advance setting of the controlling mechanism results fromthe locking of the setting device of the gear shifting mechanism at alltimes while the clutch is set, and prevents any possibility of adisarrangement or breakage of the controller mechanism.

It is not my intention to limit the invention to the precise details ofconstruction only after all of the parts of the gear shift- 4 ingmechanism are at normal and the gears of the transmission gearing aredisengaged, and I intend to claim such broadly.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to haveprotected by Letters Patent, is

1. A controller for mechanical gear shifts embodying therein an engineclutch, aclutch pedal operatively connected therewith, a gear shift'mechanism controlled by said clutch pedal, and a rotary setting devicetherefor, said setting device being inoperative when said clutch is set,in combination with a rotatable shaft, connections between said shaftand said setting device, means adapted to automatically andsimultaneously actuate said setting device and said shaft, anddifferentially operative means adapted to act upon said shaft to limitthe operative movement of said actuating means.

2. A controller for mechanical gear shifts embodying therein an engineclutch, a clutch pedal operatively connected therewith, a gear shiftmechanism controlled by said cltitch pedal, and a rotary setting devicetherefor, said setting device being inoperative when said .clutch isset, in combination with a rotatable shaft, connections between saidshaft and said setting device, means adapted to automatically andsimultaneously actuate said setting device and said shaft, a pluralityof independently settable stops aboutsaid shaft, and an arm carried bysaid shaft adapted to engage any of s lid stops to limit the operativemovementof saidactuating means.

3. A controller for mechanical gear shifts embodying therein an engineclutch, a clutch pedal operatively connected therewith, a gear shiftmechanism controlled by said clutch pedal, and a rotary setting devicetherefor,

said setting device being inoperative when sald clutch is set, 1ncombination with a rotatable shaft, connections between said shaft andsaid setting device, means adapted to f automatically and simultaneouslyactuate said setting device and said shaft, a plurality of independentlysettable stops about said shaft, an arm carried bysaid shaft adapted toengage any of said stops to limit the operative movement of saidactuating means, and means whereby the setting of one stop willautomatically permit the previously set. stop to assume an inoperativeposition relative to said arm.

4. A controller for mechanical gear shifts embodying therein an engineclutch, a clutch pedal operatively connected therewith,a gear shiftmechanism controlled by said clutch pedal, and a rotary setting devicetherefor, said setting device being inoperative when said clutch is set,in combination with a 1'0- tatable shaft, connections between said shaftand said setting device, means adapted to automatically andsimultaneously actuate said setting device and said shaft, an armcarried by and movable with said shaft, a-

plurality of independently movable spring supported plungers, a stopcontrolled by each of said plungers, adapted, with the dcpression ofsaid plunger, to be projected into the path of said arm, a lock platecommon to all of said plungers, and means carried by each said plungercooperating with said lock plate, whereby the movement of any plungerwill actuate said plate to release the previously set plunger, and aftereach said plunger has been moved, it will be held in the'set position.

5. A controller for mechanical gear shifts embodying therein an engineclutch, a clutch pedal operatively connected therewith, a gear shiftmechanism controlled by said clutch pedal, and a rotary setting devicetherefor, said setting device being inoperative when said clutch is set,in combination with a rotatable shaft, connections between said shaftand said setting device, means adapted to automatically and simutaneously actuate said setting device and said shaft, differentiallyoperative means adapted to act upon said shaft to limit the operativemovement 'of' said actuating means, and means carried by 7 said shaftwhereby the speed for which the setting device is set is indicated priorto the actuation thereof,

6. A controller for mechanical gear shifts embodying therein a gearshifting mechanism and a setting device, in combination. with aplurality of independently operative devices for determining theoperative movement of said setting device, means for automaticallyactuating said setting device, and means whereby the operative intervalof said last named means is under the control of the controlling meansfor said gear shifting mechanism.

7. A controller for mechanical gear shifts embodying therein a gearshifting mechanism and a setting device, in combination with a pluralityof independently operative devices for determining the operativemovement of said setting device, means for auto matically actuating saidsetting device, means whereby the operative interval of said last namedmeans is under the control of the controlling means for said gearshifting mechanism, and means independent of said independentlyoperative devices, where by the position of the setting device will beindicated after the actuation of one of said independently operativedevices, and prior to the actuation of the setting device in accordancetherewith.

8. A controller for mechanical gear shifts embodying therein an engineclutch, a clutch pedal operatively connected therewith, a gear shiftmechanism controlled by said clutch pedal, and a rotary setting devicetherefor, said setting device being inoperative when said clutch is set,in combination with a rotatable shaft, connections between said shaftand said setting device, a spring adapted to automatically andsimultaneouslv actuate said setting device and said shaft, means wherebysaid spring will be placed in tension prior to each actuation of saidrotatable shaft, and differentially operative means adapted to limit theoperative efi'ect of said spring upon said shaft.

9 A controller for mechanical gear shifts, embodying therein an engineclutch, a clutch pedal operatively connected therewith, a gear shiftmechanism, controlling means connecting said mechanism with said clutchpedal, and a rotary setting device therefor, said setting device beinginoperative when the clutch is set, in combination with a r0- tatableshaft, connections between said shaft and s'aid setting device, anoscillatory lever, means carried by said controlling means whereby saidlever will be positively oscillated when said controlling means isoperative to permit the shifting of the gears, a spring, one end ofwhich is connected to said lever, whereby said spring will be tensionedwhen said lever is positively oscillated under said controlling means, arack carried by said lever, gearing whereby be imparted by said lever tosaid device, including therein a pawl and ratchet mechanism to permitmovement of said lever to effect the tensioning of said spring withoutaffecting said setting device, and differentially operative meansadapted to limit the operative effect of said spring upon said settingdevice and said shaft.

In witness whereof, l have hereunto affixed my signature, in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses, this 31st day of De cember, 1913.

GEORGE W. BUNGAY.

Witnesses:

CLARICE FRANCE, WERING lineman movement may

